Q: How can the new food pyramid help me with my everyday eating habits?
A: Although the new food pyramid appears to contain less dietary guidance, this was part of the United States Department of Agriculture's purpose in redesigning the 1992 pyramid.
With a more simplistic version of the food pyramid, it sends a message that dietary needs vary from person to person. Also, with the addition of steps to the food pyramid, it emphasizes the importance of physical activity along with balanced nutrition.
The new food pyramid advises people to visit www.mypyramid.gov where you can personalize your pyramid based on age, gender, height and weight. By visiting this website, you can better understand what foods are necessary in your diet.
Also, www.mypyramid.gov contains a link to a food pyramid tracker, allowing you to enter in everything you eat throughout the day, along with your physical activity.
Not only will this option calculate calories, but it will also give you a detailed analysis of your food intake. The analysis can help you see where you did not meet your daily values for certain nutrients, and also see what foods you eat too much.
The program will save your information for one year, allowing you to track your progress.It has been proven that recording what foods you consume daily plays a large role in meeting your goal weight. It can often be an eye opening experience to see how many calories you are actually eating, or how little calories you may burn through physical activities.
Send your questions to the UW Dietetics and Nutrition Club at askDNC@yahoo.com.
